Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Similar to my other colleagues in the House today, I think we have to realize that our economies are not the same with larger centres and regional centres, more importantly, looking at the social and economic situation we find ourselves especially in a lot of our rural communities where unemployment is surpassing 40 percent and almost 45 percent in some cases. But, Mr. Speaker, this government has to realistically look at its preferential policies, procedures and do whatever we can to stimulate our local economies such as the contracts for housing or government service contracts with Public Works and Services, more importantly ensuring that we try to sustain a local economy by providing those programs and services and stimulating by government policies and procedures especially in areas such as sole source or negotiating contracts with local tenders for local contractors to be tendered locally. I just saw in the paper in regards to an enterprise in Hay River where the contractor positions for government employees are within a 50-kilometre radius for those jobs that are being offered. That is the type of stuff we have to look at to ensure that the capital expenditures in our communities remain in our communities and stimulate the local economies.
Mr. Speaker, we have a major downturn in the economic area regardless if it is oil and gas, tourism or, in most cases, not really seeing the benefit of the large projects we see in the larger centres which we depend on these seasonal economies to stimulate the economies of a lot of our communities in which people depend on that work as part of their livelihood instead of income support where we are bringing in some $500 a month to a tune of $7,000 a year. Mr. Speaker, but that is reality. Our people in our communities are having to depend on income support as the means of sustaining themselves.
Mr. Speaker, I will be asking questions to the Minister of the Housing Corporation why it is that he has not supported any negotiated contracts in the Mackenzie Delta since he has become Minister. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
